Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Tawna Fenske to HJ!

Forbidden fruit can be downright intoxicating.

It’s the story of Reese Clark, who manages her family’s Oregon winery alongside her not-so-normal family. Things get crazy for Reese when her ex-husband’s best friend, Clay (Reese’s secret college crush) shows up to build the vineyard’s new tasting room. Clay is newly-sober and determined to make amends for some of the lousy things he did during his years as an irresponsible party animal.

The constant presence of Reese’s wacky family (combined with a whole lot of baggage between Clay and Reese) makes for a complicated, hilarious journey to romance.

In the following scene, Reese’s pet alpaca, Leon, just ate marijuana planted by Reese’s biker grandpa, Axl, and his gang of geriatric stoners. Here’s the scene…

“I need to call the vet,” Reese said, scanning Leon for any signs of duress. Leon twitched his ears and hummed. “Does anyone know if marijuana is toxic to alpacas?”

“Toxic?”

“Yes, toxic!” she snapped. “Tons of things can be toxic to alpacas—acorns, azaleas, carnations, hyacinth—”

“She said high,” chortled one of the men as he blew out a fragrant puff of smoke. “Highacinth.”

Leon lowered his head and nailed the guy in the groin. The man doubled over and sat down in the dirt.

“He’s not a camel,” Reese snapped. “And that’s not funny.”

Another man snorted and pointed at his fallen comrade. “No, but that was funny. How much does the camel weigh? About one fifty?”

“He’s not a camel! Do you see any humps?”

At that, the men dissolved into stoner laughter.

Axl stood up and ambled over, stopping to nudge the man in the dirt with the toe of his Doc Marten. When he reached Reese’s side, he gave her hand a squeeze before scratching Leon’s neck.

“He’ll be fine,” Axl insisted. “He’s more like one seventy-five, isn’t he? He didn’t eat that much. Come on, I know a vet who’ll check him out under the table—all hush-hush, you know?”

Reese shook her head. “Why am I not surprised you know a shady veterinarian?”

“It pays to know people in high places, Peanut Butter Cup.”

“Right,” Reese muttered, but she raced out the door after her grandfather anyway.

The two of them scurried down the hill side by side, with Leon ambling behind them, tooting a little as they passed another cluster of alpacas in the pasture. Reese glanced at him, trying to determine whether his eyes were bloodshot or if he was stumbling at all. She knew how to tend to the basic medical needs of small wildlife, but large mammals weren’t her specialty.

Large stoned mammals were way beyond her training.

“Is that Clay down there?” Axl asked.

Reese looked away from Leon and stared down the hill to where Axl was pointing. “Yes. They’re breaking ground today.”

“Thought the bid came in too high and you’re stalling.”

“We’re stalling the construction. We already have the permits, so they can start the excavation while we figure out where the hell to get the extra money.”

“Hmph,” Axl said. “I know a guy who made good money stealing cars. If you want, I could—”

“No. We’re not stealing cars to fund the expansion.”

Axl shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He was quiet a moment, eyes on the construction site as they hustled down the hill. “Seems like he’s done well for himself.”

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Book Info:

Vineyard manager Reese Clark is determined to bring her family’s Oregon winery into the big leagues, and she knows building a new tasting room and event pavilion is her ticket there. Having her ex-husband’s best friend—and her secret college crush—turn up to head the construction project, however, doesn’t pair well with her plans. Between her nauseating lovebird parents; her motorcycle-riding, pot-growing grandfather; and her pet alpaca, fond of head-butting groins, Reese has more than enough chaotic characters in her life.

Back in college, Clay Henderson was more likely to be sprawled over a bar than building one. But even if the new clean-living Clay has matured as deliciously as an oak-aged chardonnay, he’s still off-limits. As Reese’s well-laid plans for the winery crumble like bad cork, Clay the newly sober gentleman is sweet enough to rescue Reese from a wardrobe malfunction and still spicy enough to play “I Never” with her. Can he overcome his past rep to offer her a love too heady to ignore?

Meet the Author:

Tawna Fenske is a romantic-comedy author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with quirky twists. Her offbeat brand of romance has been praised by Booklist as “a tame Carl Hiaasen on Cupid juice,” and her debut novel, Making Waves, was a nominee for RT Book Reviews’ contemporary romance of the year. She is a fourth-generation Oregonian who can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year. She lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, her stepkids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets.

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